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Victorian/Edwardian (1837-1914)

Content Group

Overview

In the nineteenth century by the time of Charles Kean the progress towards recovery of Shakespeare's scripts had led to serious attempts to stage Shakespeare's plays more nearly as printed, though later this increased sense of historicity in actor-managers like Beerbohm Tree and Henry Irving also led to an excessive concern to establish scenery, costumes, and behavior on stage consistent with original settings of the plays' contents. Such elaborate staging proved counterproductive to full presentation of scripts because of the time needed for scene changes. In many ways these elaborate costume dramas led the way for twentieth-century cinematic epics: Tree even filmed his extravagantly produced version of Henry VIII, leading the way for subsequent Tudor films and television series.

Cole, John William. The Life and Times of Charles Kean: Including a Summary of the English Stage for the Last Fifty Years, and a Detailed Account of the Management of the Princess Theatre, from 1850 to 1859. 2 Vols. London: Richard Bentley, 1859.